Groundwater-surface water connectivity in a chain-of-ponds semiarid river

Semiarid rivers are often characterized by chains of small pools connected by riffles and wet meadows. The pools can be maintained by wet season surface runoff, groundwater discharge, or some combination thereof. Using synoptic surveys for several environmental tracers (delta D and delta O-18 of H2O, specific electrical conductance at 25 degrees C [EC], chloride and Rn-222), we evaluated the groundwater-surface water connectivity of the Light River (South Australia) along an 8 km section in the vicinity of a proposed mining development. In all three surveys (representing spring, summer and winter conditions), the pools were maintained by regional groundwater discharge based on an elevated surface water EC (9-12 dS m(-1)) similar to regional groundwater, elevated radon-222 activities (0.09-3.0 Bq L-1) and low rainfall. Most pools were perennial, either because they directly received groundwater discharge or, indirectly, had an inflow originating from upstream groundwater-fed pools. The elevated salinity of regional groundwater is a key factor for the maintenance of perennial pools in the Light River because the potential for baseflow depletion by groundwater pumping is more limited.

Automated summary

The study revealed that the pools in the Light River are mainly maintained by regional groundwater discharge, with the high salinity of regional groundwater being a key factor for their persistence.